“I’m not going to give any credence to those incendiary remarks,” the Florida lawmaker said. “The captain of the Costa Concordia has been charged with manslaughter and for the RNC chairman to compare the president of the United States to someone who has been charged with manslaughter shows a dramatic level of insensitivity to the families of those victims. Unbelievable comparison.”

In an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation, Preibus said, “In a few months, this is all going to be ancient history and we’re going to talk about our own little Captain Schettino, which is President Obama who’s abandoning the ship here in the United States. He’s more interested in campaigning than doing his job as president.”

When asked by host Bob Schieffer to elaborate, Priebus did not back down from his claim.

“I called him Captain Schettino, the captain that fled the ship in Italy. That’s our own president who’s fleeing the American people and not doing his job and running around the country and campaigning,” Priebus said.

So far, 17 passengers who were aboard the ship have been confirmed dead.

BET Politics - Your source for the latest news, photos and videos illuminating key issues and personalities in African-American political life, plus commentary from some of our liveliest voices.